Nginx Guide: Essentials

The first part of this nginx article talked about the architecture and the main nginx configuration file. This article continues from there and talks about the nginx essentials: the modules that are needed and other advanced configuration techniques.

Nginx Modules

The real power of nginx lies in its modules. The entire stack can be imagined as made up of modules which enhance or build on top of the capabilities of the nginx core. To use them, they have to be enabled during compilation from source and cannot be enabled at run time.

Some modules are automatically compiled in unless otherwise stated. Of these, let's take a look at some of the interesting ones and see which are widely used.

server configs: Is a repository for configuration snippets of nginx. Really important when you are getting started and want to set up the configuration correctly. Helps you get started with the right configuration to improve the web site's performance and security, and appropriate resource usage.